


What You Want

by notjustalittlegirl



Category: The Books of Bayern Series - Shannon Hale
Genre: Angst, Daddy Issues, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 10:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14914041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustalittlegirl/pseuds/notjustalittlegirl
Summary: As Anidori leaves to marry Geric, Calib wonders what the rest of his life will hold.





	What You Want

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little something to get me back into the flow of writing.
> 
> I don't own Books of Bayern or the characters. Please don't sue me.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When his mother first told him that he, not Anidori, would be the next ruler of Kildenree, Calib couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Finally. Finally,  _ he  _ was getting something. 

Throughout his childhood, his father had largely ignored him in favor of his older sister, and Calib could remember many nights, especially when he was a small child, that he had been on the brink of crying because he just couldn’t understand why he didn’t get the special time with their father that Anidori did. Why his father never said that he was proud of him with that brilliant smile. Why he hadn’t been treated like Ani, like he was precious and special.

He understood now. He hadn’t been the heir. Now he was. 

Yes, when his mother had told Calib that he would be king, a better king than Anidori would be a queen, he had been thrilled. He had given Anidori a smile, trying to keep all bits of smugness out of his face but failing. 

But, when he had seen the back of Anidori disappearing from the palace, escorted by her guard and her friend Selia, all the smugness had vanished as he realized he didn’t have a single clue what he was doing. 

Anidori was the one who had been raised for this. Calib barely even knew the names of any of the court ministers, or how far it was to the Bayern border. Calib barely knew more about actually ruling Kildenree than little Rianno did. 

Ani was gone now, off on her way to Bayern to marry some prince, and Calib was alone, with no idea what the hell he was doing. 

He had resented Ani ever since he was born, had been so jealous of her. In his darkest hours, he had even found himself wishing that something bad would happen to her, just so he could be special like she was. 

But she was his sister, and her leaving, the realization that he would hardly ever see her anymore, that she wouldn’t be there for the rest of his life, and that she wouldn’t be there for his, made him regret every bad thing he had ever thought or said about his older sister.

He watched until her horse was out of sight.  

When Ani was well and truly gone, Calib retreated back into the palace and headed to his father’s old study, a room that he had only been in once or twice that he could remember. The place still smelled like King Tusken, especially when Calib sunk down into the chair and breathed in, curling up into a fetal position and trying to burrow in. 

The smell was so much like his father, musky but with a sweet undertone, that if Calib closed his eyes, he could almost feel like his father was holding him close, telling him what to do, guiding him like he had guided his sister. He relished the feeling, before he remembered that his father was gone, that his father couldn’t guide him or tell him what to do, that his father would never give him another hug or smile. 

The tears that he had been holding back for days finally slipped free, and Calib cried into the fabric of his father’s chair. He cried for Ani, who he might never see again. He cried for his father, dead before his time. And he cried for himself, lost and frightened. 

He hoped that his mother wouldn’t find him for a time: he wasn’t ready to face the rest of his life as a king, especially with a runny nose and watering eyes. 

When Ani had been first in line, being king was all Calib ever wanted. Now that his dream was coming true, he wondered if this was really a life he could live. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
